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Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#111

Post by adolph »

atlasunshrugged wrote: post #36
adolph wrote: post #31

Even awesomer is heading up Washington "institutions" like Brookings while taking a foreign paycheck. https://www.vox.com/23166516/scandal-john-allen-brookings-th... The court filing alleges that Allen had been tapped by two unregistered representatives of Qatar — a business executive named Imaad Zuberi and a former US ambassador to the UAE, Richard Olson — to advocate on Qatar’s behalf. (That Olson used the email ad…

Agh, and he probably thought he was just so clever with that email too. Ex-military officials should stick to joining the boards of defense conglomerates that their former friends and colleagues are going to spend billions of dollars with.

My guess is that the military is only the tip of the State iceberg.

Shortly after Olson left the State Department, several Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, launched a blockade against Qatar that sparked a massive spending spree in Washington on lobbying and other efforts to influence the US policy.

Olson, Zuberi and retired Marine four-star Gen John Allen traveled to Doha early in the diplomatic crisis to meet with top Qatari officials and discuss ways of resolving the issue, according to court records and a statement Allen’s spokesman provided to the wire service last year.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/954208-ex-us-ambassador-to-...

Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#112

Post by ectopod »

nosianu wrote: post #103
adamsmith143 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>is funny - how would they gather that evidence without confessions from the pilots involved or from the Chinese? MI6 is a thing. What do you think they do all day. You really think these people with classified info in their heads are just walking around blabbing secrets in China or Saudi or wherever?

That would be evidence they won't be able to use in court? It would be giving up on their sources at the least, even if they are not disclosed directly. I have my doubts in them being able to find out exactly which pilot gave the Chinese some specific piece of information. They would need a source that is part of the direct training, which I find a bit optimistic.

We have secret trials in the UK where the accused doesn't get to hear the evidence.

So classified evidence can be used and there is no danger of it leaking.

Of course, there is a danger of innocent people being convicted but that doesn't seem to bother MPs or the government or even the public.

Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#113

Post by thermalsauce »

This is not as bad as it reads. Understand that the top brass in the DoD are extremely loyal to the country, loyalty and trust is crucial in the officer corps (in the US at least).

Once you get that star (or whatever the equivalent is for the navy) you are basically a US officer for life. Retired Generals and Admirals can and do get called upon by the government when they are needed. They are considered highly experienced professionals that the government can trust. They are not "in" the system, they are the system.

I would expect that the DoD keeps tabs on these officers. While the oil money may be nice, make no mistake, the US government is the wealthiest organization on the planet. These officers understand who the real provider is.

Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#114

Post by josefresco »

sschueller wrote: post #72
stormbrew wrote: post #62

a lot of people in this comment section seem kind of confused about the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia? This isn't at all surprising, why wouldn't you hire American military to go with your American military hardware?

Because the United States should not be involved in invoking terror on the Yemenese population.

> invoking terror on the Yemenese population

To clarify the US is invoking terror on the Yemeni Iranian proxy forces and therefore the population.

Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#115

Post by mise_en_place »

markvdb wrote: post #41

Working for the butcher prince. We don't need that kind of people near any NATO army. Let's hope they stay in Saudi Arabia. In other news, this is just another symptom of a shrinking US empire. Pax americana is starting to crumble.

> Pax americana is starting to crumble.

You mean Pax Israel is starting to crumble. Is it a coincidence that Yair Lapid is now advocating for a two state solution? They see the writing on the wall.

Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#116

Post by ClumsyPilot »

groffee wrote: post #89
nosianu wrote: post #57

Also just today: BBC headline "Ex-UK pilots lured to help Chinese military, MoD says" https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-63293582 With more background info: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/is-china-really-using-... Some highlights from the BBC article: > Former British military pilots are being lured to China with large sums of money to pass on their expertise to the Chinese military, it is claimed. > Up to 30 former…

Quoted post unavailable.

Alternatively, use google, search RAF budger and realise that RAF has fired a bunch of people due to budget cuts. They are looking for another Job. China gave them a job and 10x the salary.

> RAF has smallest combat force in history with fewest fighter jets after shrinking by nearly half in just 12 years

This is typical conservative government, demand loyalty from military personel, but show them no loyalty and respect inreturn. Espouse belief in the market, then complain when the market does exactly what it's suppose to do. You can't have it both ways

Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#117

Post by kelnos »

nosianu wrote: post #57

Also just today: BBC headline "Ex-UK pilots lured to help Chinese military, MoD says" https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-63293582 With more background info: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/is-china-really-using-... Some highlights from the BBC article: > Former British military pilots are being lured to China with large sums of money to pass on their expertise to the Chinese military, it is claimed. > Up to 30 former…

It's weird to me that it's legal for former military members of one country to be employed by another for any military purpose at all, without the express approval of the home country.

Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#118

Post by kelnos »

groffee wrote: post #89
nosianu wrote: post #57

Also just today: BBC headline "Ex-UK pilots lured to help Chinese military, MoD says" https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-63293582 With more background info: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/is-china-really-using-... Some highlights from the BBC article: > Former British military pilots are being lured to China with large sums of money to pass on their expertise to the Chinese military, it is claimed. > Up to 30 former…

Quoted post unavailable.

That doesn't make sense. Even if what you're saying is true, these people who were not recruited in the first place would not have any military training or expertise that is of interest to the Chinese government.

Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#119

Post by ClumsyPilot »

dirtyid wrote: post #92
nosianu wrote: post #57

Also just today: BBC headline "Ex-UK pilots lured to help Chinese military, MoD says" https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-63293582 With more background info: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/is-china-really-using-... Some highlights from the BBC article: > Former British military pilots are being lured to China with large sums of money to pass on their expertise to the Chinese military, it is claimed. > Up to 30 former…

>The disclaimer sentence It's a manufacturing consent piece to setup this: >Anyone working in the UK for “hostile” states like Russia and China who fails to register their role will face up to five years in jail, Suella Braverman will announce on Tuesday. [0] https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/hostile-state-workers-... With respect to Saudi's, a lot of Saudi of military is serviced/supported by Pakistanis who feed…

> Anyone working in the UK for “hostile” states like Russia and China who fails to register their role will face up to five years in jail, Suella Braverman will announce on Tuesday.

This is exactly like Russian 'Foreign Agent' law introduced about 10 years ago. Should we be following in the footsteps of despotic regimes? If we have just declared that these regimes are morrally bankrupt, we should be doing the opposite?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_foreign_agent_law

Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince

#120

Post by kelnos »

edgefield wrote: post #14
basementcat wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sort of thing isn’t all that unusual. John Paul Jones, whom many regard as the "father" of the United States Navy, served as a rear admiral for the Imperial Russian Navy after he retired from the US Navy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Jones

Perhaps not unusual, but ethical? That’s a different matter. A former US general working for a theocratic, monarchy with a deeply concerning history on human rights raises some serious red flags in my mind.

I mean, consider that, right now, the US has a military presence in Saudi Arabia, and active US military members are under orders to help train Saudi Arabian military members.

These former US officers in question may have already been working "for" this theocratic monarchy before they retired from the US military. So I don't think it'd be much of a moral leap for them to continue to do so, at least in their own minds.

But sure, I certainly wouldn't work for SA in any capacity; the whole idea would feel gross to me. But I don't have the career baggage of a US military officer who may have been stationed in SA for years.

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